Slag Heap

Call for Cynics

Within the next few days, we'll be experimenting with a new video player on the site. I thought I'd use this opportunity to revisit a project I participated in a few months back, called "The Third Round." For those unfamiliar with the format -- i.e. for those who had better things to do than watch me guzzle beer and talk about zoning online -- the idea was to get local movers and shakers into a bar, ply them with alcohol, and then post video of their responding to the impertinent questions asked by me and other co-hosts. (I will be drinking as well, of course, but then I do that for most of my interviews.)

I'm going to try to re-establish that feature here, in a shorter format that will be more friendly to bandwidth limitations and human attention spans. The launch date is a bit hazy, but the first guest will be none other than .... Swingin' Pat Dowd, city councilor and bete noir for many a local blogger.

So taking a page from Bram Reichbaum, Pittsburgh Comet author and my own personal "Dale Carnegie of the Internet," I'm putting out an RFQ -- a request for queries. Got a question you'd like Councilor Dowd to answer? Add it to the comments section below, or e-mail me and I'll pose it to him. Depending on how he answers, I'll post video of his response so you can watch him squirm/deftly respond to your concerns/denounce me as a hack.